NH news from around the web - Updated 4/25

Accused shooter's mother remembers Mutrie as 'good person', 'good son'GREENLAND — Twelve days after Cullen Mutrie shot five police officers, wounding four and killing Police Chief Michael Maloney, his mother said she wishes the media would stop reporting the story.A Hampton businesswoman, Beverly Mutrie said she's heard the local talk about turning her Post Road home, the scene of the fatal gunfight, into a memorial park. She said she has no immediate plans for the property and that anyone who wants to convert it into a memorial “can if they want to buy it from me.”

Saint-Gaudens site closed to fiddlehead harvestingCORNISH, N.H. — Fiddlehead ferns are a New England culinary delicacy in the spring. Locals foraging for the tightly curled greens these days, however, have one hunting ground fewer where their efforts are allowed: the Saint-Gaudens National Historical Site has begun quietly turning away prospective pickers.

May 22 the last day to apply for federal disaster loans from SBAThe U.S. Small Business Administration is reminding small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, small businesses engaged in aquaculture and most private non-profit organizations of all sizes that May 22 is the filing deadline for federal economic injury disaster loans available in Cheshire, Hillsborough and Rockingham counties in New Hampshire as a result of excessive rain and high winds associated with Tropical Storm Irene that occurred on August 28-31, 2011.

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Volunteers at UNH scramble to get votes to win Zipcar contestWith less than 100 virtual votes separating them with the leading university, efforts were ramped up with volunteers visiting the Memorial Union Building, library and other points throughout the school, laptops in tow, asking students to log on for a cause.

Jetpack Comics hosts citywide Free Comic Book Day Festival in RochesterThe event starts in Jetpack Comics at 10am but then extends across the town with many other businesses giving away comic books as part of a scavenger hunt, collecting one free comic from twenty locations, before returning to Jetpack Comics at 4pm for a meet and greet with a select two hundred.

'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' original art up for auction has NH originKevin Eastman and Peter Laird's first ever sketch of the anthropomorphic reptiles is up for bidding through online auctioneer Heritage, and has already fetched a price of $5,500. "Late in November 1983, Peter Laird and I were sharing a studio (our living room) in Dover, New Hampshire," Eastman said. "One work night, in an effort to make Peter laugh, I drew a sketch of this character I called a 'Ninja Turtle' and threw it onto Peter's desk.

NHPUC approves permanent $3.68M rate increase for Northern UtilitiesThe Settlement Agreement calls for an overall revenue increase of approximately $3.68 .million, effective May 1, 2012. We compare this amount to the revenue increase of approximately $5.17 million (including the proposed step adjustment) originally sought by the Company. This increase, according to the Settlement Agreement, will give the Company an overall rate of return of 7.24 percent, based upon a return on equity of9.5 percent, and the application of the Company's actual capital structure of 40 percent equity and 60 percent debt.

Wind credits stall despite bipartisan supportMonths of pushing, lobbying and counting votes has led nowhere, even though the credit is backed by Democrats and a long list of Republicans, including moderates such as Rep. Charlie Bass of New Hampshire and wind-state conservatives such as Rep. Steve King of Iowa and Sen. John Thune of South Dakota.

Q&A with Bone Deth rider Lee Hopkins and the new Boston sceneLee's recent Bone Deth web video was great and further emphasized how awesome his riding is, and always has been. Read on to learn a little more about the Boston via New Hampshire transplant that has been killing New England streets for the better part of the past decade.

Three NH authors honored for work documenting regional skiing historyCarol Anderson wrote "The History of Gunstock: Skiing in the Belknap Mountains," published in 2011. Other 2012 Skade recipients were Meghan McCarthy McPhaul, who wrote "A History of Cannon Mountain: Trails, Tales and Skiing Legends," and Jeffrey Leich, author of "Over the Headwall: A History of Skiing in Tuckerman Ravine."

Things to Come at at Lee USA Speedway in 2012In preparation for the upcoming 2012 season, the Lee USA Speedway will conduct its annual pre-season Test & Tune session on Saturday, April 28th. All race cars are welcome. A contingent of vintage race cars and nostalgic vehicles will complement the session.